Ryan Ferguson Billboard Campaign to Launch

COLUMBIA - The Free Ryan Ferguson Committee will launch a billboard campaign Monday depicting a composite drawing of the person it believes to be the "missing link" in the Kent Heitholt murder case.

According to a news release, the composite sketch was done by a former Columbia Police Department detective and an eye-witness who testified during Ferguson's 2008 appeal hearing.

The Free Ryan Ferguson Committee believes that the person depicted in the drawing walked through the Columbia Daily Tribune parking lot the night of the murder and stumbled upon the victim's body. The committee does not believe that the person depicted in the sketch was involved in the murder.

Billboards will rotate every four weeks to six different locations. The first location will be on the north side of I-70 in the eastbound lane near Olive Garden in Columbia.

The committee is offering a $10,000 reward for the identification of the individual. If anyone has any information, they can contact the committee by calling 573-268-6458 or by emailing freefergusonnow@aol.com.

In October, a Cole County judge denied Ferguson's request for a new trial.